(Dhe  Cfieapening  of^efigion 


By  James  O.  Fagan 


UC-NRLF 


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Edward  C.M.Tower 


Zj^i'  Libris 


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Clie  Cfieapenms  of 
J^elision 


BY 

JAMES   O.  FAGAN 


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THROUGH   the  courtesy  of  the  author  and 
of   the  Atlantic    Monthly,   this    frank 
analysis    of    present-day    tendencies   in   the 
propaganda  work  of  the   Christian   Church,    pub- 
lished in  that    magazine    October,    19 lO,   is  here 
presented  in  more  enduring  form. 

The  appropriateness  of  such  republication  by  a 
New-Church  publishing  house  will  be  understood 
by  those  in  any  way  familiar  with  the  fundamental 
conceptions  of  life  enunciated  in  the  writings  of 
Emanuel  Swedenborg.  For  those  not  thus  familiar, 
there  may  be  quoted  the  following  from  the  New- 
Church  Messenger  (the  leading  American  Sweden- 
borgian  weekly  periodical),  clearly  indicating  an 
unequivocal  stand  upon  the  platform  for  which 
Mr.  Fagan  now  pleads : 

''The  New  Church  stands  pre-eminently  for 
the  spiritual.  Its  immediate  present-day  function 
is  so  to  order  its  resources  and  conduct  its  uses 
that  amid  the  wide  weltering  chaos  of  skepticism, 
naturalism,  worldliness  and  impiety  which  charac- 
terize the  inner  life  of  our  age,  man  shall  neverthe- 
less have  the  means  of  thinking  more  rationally,  of 


957 


feeling  more  intensely,  of  acting  more  fruitfully  in 
respect  to  heavenly  things  than  ever  before  in  the 
history  of  the  world. 

''The  intellectual  and  practical  grasp  by  a 
Church  and  its  people  of  the  facts  of  our  Lord's 
Divine  Humanity,  of  the  Spiritual  Second  Advent, 
of  the  unfolded  internal  sense  of  the  Word,  and  of 
the  tangible  reality  of  the  spiritual  world,  is  the 
self-evident  qualification  for  such  a  ministry  of 
truth  and  consequent  charity  as  will  effectually 
provide  that  the  Divine  shall  be  among  men." 


W^t  cheapening  of  Religion 


Kf^t  cheapening  of  Eelision 


IN  this,  as  in  every  generation,  the 
most  important  human  interests  are 
personal  and  spiritual.  A  cele- 
brated preacher  once  said  that  God's 
purpose  on  earth  is  not  truth,  but  man. 
In  view  of  present  intellectual  standards 
and  tendencies  this  statement  has  a  pecu- 
liar significance.  It  touches  the  heart  of 
all  social  problems. 

For  example,  the  most  momentous 
social  fact  of  the  twentieth  century  is, 
probably,  the  rise  of  the  working  man. 

I 


THE  CHEAPENING  OF  RELIGION 

His  destiny  is  the  next  consideration. 
While  his  material  success  is  assured,  his 
spiritual  outlook  and  intentions  are  some- 
what obscured.  To  an  almost  incon- 
ceivable extent,  and  before  long,  domin- 
ion and  power  are  to  be  his,  and  in  this 
connection  one  of  the  most  hopeful  signs 
of  the  times  is  the  present  unrest  of  this 
worker  and  his  consequent  effort  educa- 
tionally and  industrially  to  improve  his 
conditions. 

This  social  unrest,  however,  is  not  con- 
fined to  industrial  circles.  It  is  also  the 
most  hopeful  religious  or  spiritual  sign. 
At  no  time  in  the  history  of  this  continent 
has  the  spiritual  element  in  the  churches 
and  elsewhere  been  so  thoroughly  aroused 
to  a  sense  of  its  responsibility  and  oppor- 

2 


THE  CHEAPENING  OF  RELIGION 

tunity.  For  the  church  to  sever  its  spirit- 
ual connection  with  the  masses  is  to  court 
isolation.  On  the  other  hand,  to  bolster 
its  influence  with  the  people  by  methods 
other  than  spiritual  is  an  alternative  that 
is  foredoomed  to  defeat.  And  yet  this 
alternative,  which  means  the  descent  of 
religion  and  the  cheapening  of  its  ideals, 
is  a  boldly  advertised  feature  of  only  too 
many  church  programmes,  whose  avowed 
intention  it  is  to  keep  up  with  what  they 
consider  to  be  the  spirit  of  the  times. 

To  illustrate  the  effect  of  this  cheap- 
ening of  religious  thought  on  the  pro- 
gress and  religious  ideals  of  modern 
society,  let  us  first  take  the  word  religion 
in  all  its  old-time  simplicity  and  sig- 
nificance. 

3 


THE  CHEAPENING  OF  RELIGION 

To  begin  with,  I  think  it  will  be  al- 
lowed that  originally,  or  at  least  once 
upon  a  time,  this  term  religion  was  by 
right  of  almost  universal  usage  the  ex- 
clusive property  and  copyright  of  re- 
ligious people,  that  is  to  say  of  people, 
regardless  of  faith  or  denomination,  whose 
chief  concern  was  the  spiritual,  and  not 
directly  the  material,  welfare  of  the  hu- 
man race.  To  be  still  more  explicit, 
there  certainly  was  a  time  when  the  word 
religion  was  not  appHed  to  scientific  or 
socialistic  systems  of  social  betterment. 
The  term  was  taken  to  mean  simply  and 
solely  the  conscious  relation  between  man 
and  God,  and  the  expression  of  that  re- 
lation in  human  conduct.  As  such,  it 
was  a  designation  or  emblem  wide  enough 

4 


THE  CHEAPENING  OF  RELIGION 

to  take  in  men  and  women  of  almost 
every  conceivable  spiritual  inclination  and 
calibre. 

So  far  as  Christians  are  concerned, 
and  according  to  its  original  significance, 
the  term  was  intended  strictly  to  repre- 
sent the  spiritual  function  in  human  af- 
fairs, namely,  **To  develop  the  moral 
instincts  of  children,  to  fortify  the  char- 
acter of  the  young  against  temptation,  to 
cherish  love  of  justice  and  human  brother- 
hood, and  to  encourage  the  capacity  for 
self-sacrifice." 

It  matters  little  that,  in  all  countries 
and  in  every  generation,  grievous  mis- 
takes have  been  made  in  the  name  of 
religion.  The  flags  of  the  most  civilized 
nations  are  subject  to  the  same  criticism. 

5 


THE  CHEAPENING  OF  RELIGION 

Consequently,  this  word  religion,  stand- 
ing on  its  pedestal  from  age  to  age  with 
its  central  idea  of  spiritual  service,  should 
have  been  guarded  by  Christian  people 
with  zealous  solicitude,  and  its  original 
significance  should  have  been  retained, 
unmixed  with  other  issues,  however  popu- 
lar and  praiseworthy. 

At  the  present  day,  however,  no  one 
would  dream  of  claiming  any  such  ex- 
clusive interpretation  for  the  word  re- 
ligion. In  fact,  the  term,  shorn  for  the 
most  part  of  its  original  significance,  is 
now  at  the  service  of  anybody  who  is 
able  to  bring  into  popular  notice  a  plaus- 
ible proposition  in  social  or  industrial 
betterment  work.  The  churches  them- 
selves, and  more  particularly  what  are 

6 


THE  CHEAPENING  OF  RELIGION 

known  as  the  liberal  churches,  have 
thrown  the  word  into  the  literary  scrap- 
heap,  have  invited  all  manner  of  well- 
meaning  people,  or  associations  of  well- 
meaning  people,  to  make  use  of  the  word 
as  they  think  fit,  and  to  attach  it  to  all 
manner  of  ethical,  scientific,  or  socialistic 
systems  by  means  of  which  future  races 
may  be  more  thoroughly  washed,  fed, 
housed,  measured,  and  enlightened. 
This  to-day  is  the  exact  status  of  the  word 
religion,  which  at  one  time  was  the  ex- 
clusive property  and  word-emblem  of 
spiritually-minded  people. 

At  this  point,  the  writer  simply  calls 
attention  to  this  change  in  the  signifi- 
cance of  the  word,  and  specifically  to  a 
number  of  well-defined  evolutionary  fea- 

7 


THE  CHEAPENING  OF  RELIGION 

tures  that  are  following  closely  in  its 
train:  namely,  to  the  scattering  and  mys- 
tifying of  the  religious  conceptions  of 
people,  especially  of  the  rising  genera- 
tion; to  a  certain,  and  very  noticeable, 
cheapening  of  religious  thought  in  the 
community;  and  finally,  to  a  tendency  to 
do  away  with  religious  observance,  and 
to  convert  religion  itself  into  a  guess  of 
constantly  diminishing  importance. 

To  people  who  frequent  the  byways 
of  city  life,  who  listen  to  and  make  note 
of  conversations,  and  who  read  the  news- 
papers, in  which,  as  a  rule,  religion  is 
only  referred  to  in  parentheses  or  humour- 
ously,— to  such  people,  I  say,  the  indi- 
cations I  have  mentioned  are  the  widely- 
advertised    signs    of    the    times.      The 

8 


THE  CHEAPENING  OF  RELIGION 

evolutionary  history  of  this  state  of  af- 
fairs, and  the  illustrations  connected  with 
it  are  extremely  interesting.  But  now, 
in  order  to  illuminate  the  discussion  a 
little,  a  short  historical  retrospection  be- 
comes necessary. 

II 

Roughly  speaking,  between  the  years 
1880  and  1890  there  was  a  period  of 
great  educational  and  intellectual  activ- 
ity in  America.  It  was  by  no  means 
a  pious  upheaval  of  the  human  mind, 
but  a  sort  of  awakening  to  a  sense  of 
great  intellectual  riches  and  prospects. 
People  in  crowds,  as  it  were,  became 
half  intoxicated  with  programmes  of 
social  and  scientific  possibilities.     In  al- 

9 


THE  CHEAPENING  OF  RELIGION 

most  every  town  and  city  in  the  country, 
lecture  bureaus  and  "Star  courses"  were 
at  the  height  of  their  popularity  and  use- 
fulness. Right  along,  through  this  inter- 
esting period,  a  revered  and  commanding 
personality  was  exercising  a  powerful  in- 
fluence on  the  religious  life  of  the  people 
of  New  England.  It  was  an  influence 
essentially  religious  and  ennobling,  yet 
the  doctrines  were  widely  tolerant  in  the 
best  sense  of  the  term.  The  key-note  to 
this  man's  preaching  was  contained  in 
the  fundamental  understanding  that  the 
immediate  obstacles  to  right  living  lie  in 
our  minds,  and  not  in  our  circumstances. 
That  is  to  say,  it  was  a  personal  religion, 
founded  on  a  spiritual  basis. 

The  writer  cannot  recall  the  exact  date, 

10 


THE  CHEAPENING  OF  RELIGION 

but  on  a  certain  New  Year's  Eve  the  man 
I  refer  to,  the  late  Philhps  Brooks, 
preached  a  sermon  to  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Union  in  Boston.  His  subject 
was  the  martyrdom  of  Saint  Stephen,  or 
the  duties  and  responsibihties  of  the 
Christian  soldier.  The  writer  was  so 
much  impressed  with  the  religious  con- 
ceptions propounded  by  Dr.  Brooks  in 
this  remarkable  sermon,  that  he  sought 
an  interview  with  the  preacher  for  the 
purpose  of  expressing  his  deep  apprecia- 
tion. Recalling  the  conversation  as  best 
I  can,  I  trust  that  I  do  not  misinterpret 
his  words,  or  their  significance,  when  I 
say  that  with  hearty  interest  in  all  social 
and  economic  problems  for  the  improve- 
ment of  material   conditions,   and  with 

II 


THE  CHEAPENING  OF  RELIGION 

the  greatest  sympathy  for  the  opinions 
of  all  right-minded  people,  Dr.  Brooks 
yet  held  religion  to  be  the  consecrated 
force  by  means  of  which  all  human  ac- 
tivities should  be  inspired  and  directed 
along  spiritual  lines;  or,  as  some  one 
else  has  expressed  it,  religion  should  be 
depended  upon  "  to  supply  the  extra- 
mundane  motive  stimulating  men  to  the 
performance  of  their  duties." 

In  short,  while  religion  has  a  mission, 
it  has  also  privileges  and  powers  and 
a  clearly  defined  sphere  of  action.  The 
writer  came  away  from  this  interview 
impressed  with  the  idea  that,  in  the 
opinion  of  Dr.  Brooks,  it  was  by  no 
means  necessary  for  religion  to  apolo- 
gize for  its  place  in  society,  or  for  its 

12 


THE  CHEAPENING  OF  RELIGION 

services  to  humanity,  nor  was  it  either 
proper  or  expedient  for  ministers  of  re- 
Hgion  to  subordinate  or  side-track  their 
spiritual  functions  in  favor  of  popular 
or  scientific  theories,  however  praise- 
worthy. 

Here,  as  it  seems  to  the  writer,  in  the 
religion  of  Phillips  Brooks  was  a  posi- 
tive yet  flexible  starting-point  from  which 
people  of  all  religious  denominations  and 
ethical  systems  might  well  agree  to  take 
their  bearings.  The  entirely  religious  yet 
tolerant  ideas  of  Dr.  Brooks  were  ex- 
tremely popular,  practically  speaking, 
with  all  classes  in  the  community  in  which 
he  labored;  but  in  order  to  perpetuate 
rules  of  faith  or  conduct  to  which,  let  it  be 
noted,  there  is  attached  a  suspicion  of 

13 


THE  CHEAPENING  OF  RELIGION 

discipline,  the  inspiration  and  actual 
presence  of  great  personalities  is  called 
for.  Since  the  days  of  Dr.  Brooks,  how- 
ever, no  single  preacher  or  school  of 
preachers  has  in  any  emphatic  way  taken 
up  his  work,  and  followed  in  his  foot- 
steps, with  anything  approaching  his 
intensity  or  directness  of  spiritual  pur- 
pose. Too  many  of  them  nowadays 
are  even  inclined  to  apologize  for  intro- 
ducing spirituality  into  human  affairs 
until  some  kind  of  social  justice  has  been 
secured. 

This  over-keen  sense,  in  fine  and  con- 
scientious minds,  of  "  the  burden  of  the 
universe  "  leads  to  great  timidity  in  spirit- 
ual circles.  Consequently  the  great  non- 
religious  world  is  inclined  to  look  upon 

14 


THE  CHEAPENING  OF  RELIGION 

the  modern  minister  as  a  weakling. 
If  it  does,  the  fault  lies  in  the  minis- 
ters themselves.  When  Phillips  Brooks 
preached  his  sermon  on  the  martyrdom  of 
Saint  Stephen,  he  was  addressing  the 
ministers  of  his  time,  as  well  as  the 
young  men  of  the  Christian  Union. 
Brave  men  and  true  of  course  there 
are  to-day,  but  among  the  best  of  them 
spirituality  seems  to  be  losing  its  mili- 
tant qualities.  In  order  to  bridge  rivers, 
tunnel  cities,  navigate  the  air,  fight  pesti- 
lence, and  destroy  the  slums,  it  is  agreed 
that  man  must  struggle,  scheme,  and 
dare.  These  noble  lines  of  human  en- 
deavor call  for  champions,  but  as  it  ap- 
pears to  the  writer  of  this  article,  spirit- 
uality   in    America,    instead    of   arming 

15 


THE  CHEAPENING  OF  RELIGION 

knights,  is  now  enjoying  a  humdrum 
existence  in  the  seclusion  of  comfortable 
parishes. 

It  is  true  many  worthy  ministers  are 
in  the  open,  fighting  bravely  for  every 
conceivable  kind  of  reform  in  social 
and  religious  life;  but  more  and  more 
the  modern  religious  reformer  is  wan- 
dering from  the  basic  principle  of  per- 
sonal character  and  redemption,  and 
the  leaders  of  this  radical  and  specula- 
tive school  of  modern  religious  thought 
are  now  seeking  the  greatest  material 
happiness  for  the  greatest  number,  along 
channels  and  by  methods  to  which  the 
writer  now  desires  to  direct  attention. 
That  there  may  be  no  misunderstanding 
as  to  this  radical  tendency  and  its  meaning 

i6 


THE  CHEAPENING  OF  RELIGION 

it  will  be  well  to  quote  authority  and  ad- 
duce concrete  illustration. 


Ill 

I  have  said  that  the  so-called  liberal 
preachers  of  the  day  have  agreed  to 
cast  the  word  religion  into  the  Hterary 
scrap-heap.  To  some  people  this  fact 
will  have  but  little  significance;  but 
when  we  come  to  examine  the  matter 
closely,  we  will  get  some  idea  of  the 
cheapening  of  religious  thought  by  which 
this  change  has  been  accompanied. 

That  the  agreement  to  materialize 
religion  and  its  meaning  is  spreading, 
and  becoming  very  popular,  can  easily  be 
demonstrated.     Even  the  Roman  Catho- 

17 


THE  CHEAPENING  OF  RELIGION 

lies  here  and  there  are  being  drawn 
into  the  current. 

In  a  communication  read  at  the  con- 
ference at  Edinburgh,  on  June  17,  1910, 
the  CathoHc  Bishop  of  Cremona,  Italy, 
gives  "due  recognition"  to  the  many 
elements  of  truth  and  value  in  several 
non-Christian  systems  of  religion  and 
ethics,  although  in  the  same  breath  he 
adds,  '*But  we  should  be  unfaithful  to 
the  facts  of  experience  if  we  did  not 
reaffirm  our  conviction  that  the  educa- 
tion of  the  world  demands  for  its  high- 
est and  best  development  those  ele- 
ments of  truth  which  are  the  peculiar 
contributions  of  Christianity  to  the  world's 
thought  and  life." 

But  an  illustration    nearer  home  will 

18 


THE  CHEAPENING  OF  RELIGION 

be  more  to  the  point.  In  a  book  en- 
titled, The  Coming  Religion,  published 
in  the  year  1893,  Rev.  Thomas  Van 
Ness  applies  the  term  religion  to  three 
clearly  defined  systems  of  philosoph- 
ical thought,  to  which  at  that  time  the 
earnest  attention  of  thinking  people  was 
directed,  as  it  is  now,  for  that  matter. 
These  systems  of  religion  are  "The 
Christian,  the  Scientific,  and  the  Hu- 
manitarian, with  their  gospels  of  love, 
evolution,  and  socialism." 

In  commenting  on  conditions  and 
prospects,  Mr.  Van  Ness  describes  the 
situation  very  clearly.  He  speaks  of 
"the  three  religions  batthng  for  suprem- 
acy in  the  Christian  world,"  and  puts 
the    question    to    his    readers:    "Which 

19 


THE  CHEAPENING  OF  RELIGION 

of  the  three  is  to  become  supreme  ?  Is 
not  our  religion,"  he  adds,  **  perfect,  as 
it  is  measured  by  the  standards  of  its 
sincere  believers  ? "  The  book  in  ques- 
tion, the  author  explains,  "was  written 
to  answer  this  question  in  the  negative." 
Now,  it  is  not  necessary  to  dwell  on 
the  obvious  distinction  between  the  all- 
embracing  personal  service  contained  in 
the  doctrines  and  faith  of  Dr.  Brooks, 
and  the  religion  of  the  future,  which, 
in  the  mind's  eye  of  Mr.  Van  Ness, 
is  to  be  a  sort  of  alliance  or  recon- 
ciliation between  science,  socialism,  and 
Christianity.  This  is  to-day  a  com- 
mon and  very  acceptable  doctrine.  It  is 
popular  with  liberal  thinkers  and  hosts 
of  people,  and  yet  to  the  mind  of  the 

20 


THE  CHEAPENING  OF  RELIGION 

present  writer,  it  means  to  Christianity 
and  the  spiritual  Hfe  of  the  nation  what 
the  partition  of  Poland  meant  to  the 
Poles. 

The  alliance  in  question,  in  all  its 
complications,  is  becoming  more  and 
more  the  popular  interpretation  of  relig- 
ious probabilities.  The  most  advanced 
views  on  the  subject,  leaving  out  a 
good  deal  of  the  socialism,  with  a  quite 
graphic  description  of  the  promised  land 
connected  with  it,  are  very  clearly  out- 
lined in  the  well-known  treatise  on  The 
Religion  oj  the  Future^  by  Dr.  Charles 
W.  Eliot. 

The  present  writer,  however,  is  not 
now  concerned  with  horoscopes  and  pre- 
dictions.    He  invites  his  readers  to  ex- 

21 


THE  CHEAPENING  OF  RELIGION 

amine  the  situation  for  themselves,  and 
to  see  just  how  this  proposed  alHance 
between  sociaHsm  and  science  on  the  one 
hand,  and  a  large,  influential,  and  well- 
meaning  section  of  Christian  workers 
on  the  other,  pursues  its  ends  and  carries 
on  its  campaign.  To  a  great  extent 
it  is  a  picture  of  spirituality  and  spiritual 
teachers  backing  out  and  losing  ground 
under  pressure  from  below.  What  fol- 
lows is  some  of  the  writing  on  the  wall. 

IV 

During  the  period  to  which  I  have  re- 
ferred, when  Phillips  Brooks  was  preach- 
ing to  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men  his 
great  doctrines  of  love,  spirituality,  and 

22 


THE  CHEAPENING  OF  RELIGION 

personal  service,  and  when  at  the  same 
time  from  forum  and  platform  mes- 
sages of  great  human  and  scientific 
interest  were  being  delivered  to  enthusi- 
astic audiences,  a  young  minister  stepped 
out  of  the  ranks,  as  it  were,  and  pro- 
claimed to  the  people  of  New  England 
the  dawn  of  a  new  era,  or  rather,  the 
breaking  of  new  ground  in  methods  of  re- 
ligious teaching.  For,  after  all,  his  mes- 
sage was  neither  new  nor  strange.  But 
the  man  had  personality.  He  was  bur- 
dened with  an  idea.  He  was  enthusi- 
astic, honest,  eloquent,  and  strong.  From 
the  start  people  took  him  seriously.  The 
newspapers  **  featured"  him,  and  he 
began  to  draw  crowds.  Sunday  after 
Sunday    he    filled    Tremont    Temple    in 

23 


THE  CHEAPENING  OF  RELIGION 

Boston  to  the  doors.  From  a  full  heart 
he  preached  the  ever  virile  doctrine  of 
human  brotherhood. 

But  the  spiritual  impetus  that  was 
at  the  root  of  his  humanitarian  ideas 
was,  to  the  better  educated  among  his 
hearers,  its  most  attractive  feature.  Al- 
though the  spiritual  element  in  his  au- 
diences was  in  the  minority,  the  preacher's 
standing  on  the  subject  added  greatly 
to  his  popularity  and  to  the  quiet  dignity 
of  the  services,  and  hundreds  of  regular 
church-goers  from  all  over  the  state 
became  frequent  attendants  at  these 
meetings. 

As  time  passed,  interest  in  the  move- 
ment increased,  but,  as  it  seemed  to 
the  writer,   in  response  to  the  popular 

24 


THE  CHEAPENING  OF  RELIGION 

demand  of  a  mixed  audience,  more  em- 
phasis began  to  be  laid  on  the  social, 
industrial,  and  human-brotherhood  fea- 
tures of  the  programme.  The  idea  of 
the  spiritual  origin  and  backing  of  the 
movement  seemed  to  be  losing  ground, 
and  before  long,  in  the  natural  course 
of  events,  sermons  on  social  justice  were 
reinforced  and  illustrated  by  the  teach- 
ing of  science  and  the  doctrines  of 
socialism. 

In  this  way,  one  thing  leading  to  an- 
other, the  Christian  Church  itself  was 
brought  up  for  consideration.  There 
is  no  mistaking  the  outside  popular  view 
of  this  matter.  If  the  religious  liberal 
loses  sight  of  it,  he  will  get  out  of  touch 
with   his    popular   audience.     And    thus 

25 


THE  CHEAPENING  OF  RELIGION 

the  minister  in  question,  forgetting  the 
Christian  endeavor  of  centuries,  held 
up,  rehgiously  speaking,  his  own  flesh 
and  blood  to  popular  animadversion  for 
its  mistakes  in  the  past,  and  its  lethargy 
in  the  present.  Perhaps  he  was  right; 
in  my  opinion  he  was  wrong;  but  leaving 
the  ultimate  good  to  the  community  an 
open  question,  the  fact  remains  that  he, 
this  minister,  had  now  joined  the  ranks 
of  those  who  were  cheapening  religious 
traditions  and  thought. 

Meanwhile  the  sermons  were  becoming 
immensely  entertaining,  and  the  ever- 
increasing  radicalism  and  religious  in- 
dependence of  the  preacher  continued 
to  be  received  with  marked  applause 
by  crowded  audiences. 

26 


THE  CHEAPENING  OF  RELIGION 

In  this  way,  as  it  seemed  to  the  writer 
recording  his  honest  impressions,  the 
preacher  discovered  the  most  popular 
element  in  his  teaching,  his  visions  of 
doing  good  were  guided  thereby,  and 
thus  he  began  to  get  a  ghmpse  of  the 
fascinating  Hfe-work  that  was  before 
him. 

The  man,  by  this  time,  was  a  dis- 
tinct power  in  the  community.  Apart 
from  his  regular  religious  services  in 
Tremont  Temple  and  elsewhere,  he 
started  a  ** forum"  in  the  interests  of 
young  men,  in  the  Parker  Memorial 
Building  in  Boston,  for  the  freest  pos- 
sible discussion  of  social  and  industrial 
problems,  and  in  particular  of  the  doc- 
trines of  human  rights  and  socialism. 

27 


THE  CHEAPENING  OF  RELIGION 

Without  exaggeration,  hundreds  of 
young  men  of  thoughtful  and  rehgious 
tendencies  were  attracted  to  this  plat- 
form which  represented  and  encouraged 
the  discussion  of  topics  of  such  vital 
human  interest.  The  moving  spirits  in 
this  forum,  the  regular  attendants  and 
most  interested  debaters,  were  drawn 
from  the  churches.  Without  any  refer- 
ence to  the  merits  of  the  case,  it  will 
have  to  be  allowed  that  few,  if  any,  of 
these  young  men  ever  returned  to  the 
churches  from  which  they  came. 

But  now  mark  the  event. 

The  work  of  the  forum  and  of  the 
movement  itself  came  to  an  end  after 
two  or  three  very  successful  seasons,  not 
from  lack  of  interest  or  attendance,  but 

28 


THE  CHEAPENING  OF  RELIGION 

from  the  deliberate  action  and  test  of 
the  founder  himself.  When  the  time 
came  he  put  the  case  to  his  audience  in 
so  many  words,  very  much  as  follows; 
at  any  rate  this  is  the  impression  his  re- 
marks left  on  his  hearers.  "My  friends," 
he  said  in  effect,  "we  have  now  come 
to  the  parting  of  the  ways.  You  have 
followed  me  kindly  and  courageously 
this  many  a  day.  What  I  am  and  what 
I  teach,  you  should  all  thoroughly  un- 
derstand by  this  time.  And  specific- 
ally about  religion  you  are  particu- 
larly well  posted,  and  my  views  on  the 
subject  I  have  not  withheld  from  you. 
But  now  it  is  our  manifest  duty  to  take 
account  of  stock,  to  look  forward  as 
well  as  backward,  and  thus  I  now  want 

29 


THE  CHEAPENING  OF  RELIGION 

to  know  something  about  results  and 
the  future.  My  rehgion,  the  doctrine 
I  have  preached,  you  understand,  is 
founded  on  human  justice,  the  brother- 
hood of  man,  the  revelations  and  truths  of 
science,  and  finally  as  much  of  the  Chris- 
tian religion  as,  in  good  faith  and  reason- 
ably, we  can  admit  into  the  partnership. 
"With  these  ideas  in  our  m^inds,  and 
along  these  lines,  I  now  propose  to  in- 
stitute here  in  Boston  a  great  brotherly 
congregation  of  Christian  workers.  To 
begin  with,  I  ask  you  all  to  think  the 
matter  over  carefully,  and  later,  when 
our  arrangements  shall  have  been  com- 
pleted, I  shall  ask  you  to  put  your  hands 
in  your  pockets,  and  give  the  move- 
ment   some    tangible    evidence  of   your 

30 


THE  CHEAPENING  OF  RELIGION 

appreciation  of  my  sojourn  and  labors 
among  you.  In  a  word,  we  must  now 
have  a  regular  constitution  and  a  home 
to  worship  in.  The  question  remains,  Is 
this  aUiance  of  ours  between  Science, 
Socialism,  and  the  Christian  Religion 
good  for  it  ? " 

To  describe  the  situation  more  defi- 
nitely, the  city  of  Boston  was  thoroughly 
canvassed  in  behalf  of  the  project.  Those 
who  had  manifested  any  interest  in  the 
work  were  then  invited  to  assist  the 
committees.  A  form  of  pledge,  promis- 
ing financial  assistance,  was  printed  and 
circulated,  and  finally  a  mass  meeting 
of  regular  attendants  and  well-wishers 
was  held  one  Sunday  evening  in  the 
Hollis  Street  Theatre. 

31 


THE  CHEAPENING  OF  RELIGION 

The  building  was  crowded  to  the 
doors.  If  my  recollection  of  the  affair 
is  correct,  the  services  of  an  expert  were 
secured  for  the  financial  aspect  of  the 
undertaking.  The  duties  of  this  gentle- 
man consisted  in  the  reading  of  a  finan- 
cial report,  in  announcing  the  amounts 
of  the  pledges,  and  finally,  by  means  of 
a  stirring  appeal,  in  arousing  the  en- 
thusiasm of  the  audience  to  the  requisite 
money-giving  pitch. 

In  this  way  the  best  part  of  an  hour 
was  consumed;  but  when  the  sum  total 
of  the  pledges  was  read  out,  it  was 
found  to  be  sadly  disappointing.  The 
minister,  however,  made  the  best  of  it. 
It  remained  for  him  to  announce  his 
plans  for  the  future  with  such  limited 

32 


THE  CHEAPENING  OF  RELIGION 

financial  support.  He  promised  to  think 
it  over.  He  had  received  a  very  flattering 
call  from  a  society  in  California.  He 
must  not  forget  that.  He  thanked  kind 
friends  for  their  support  and  generosity, 
and  then  he  gave  his  topic  for  the  evening: 
"Why  I  believe  in  Immortality." 

Now,  in  the  present  article  neither 
the  teachings  of  science  nor  the  doc- 
trines of  socialism  are  up  for  consider- 
ation. The  issue  is  simply  the  effect, 
or  probable  effect,  of  the  alliance  I  have 
been  describing  on  the  spiritual  life  of 
the  community.  And  from  this  point 
of  view  I  think  it  fair  to  conclude  that 
the  movement  which  culminated,  or  rather 
disbanded,  in  the  Hollis  Street  Theatre, 
cost   the   churches   some   two   or   three 

33 


THE  CHEAPENING  OF  RELIGION 

hundred  regular  attendants.  The  doc- 
trines of  personal  religion  and  spirituality 
in  general  lost  a  great  deal  of  ground. 
At  the  end  there  was  no  religious  or 
any  other  cohesion,  and  the  great  audience 
in  the  Hollis  Street  Theatre  represented 
a  medley  of  social  and  philosophical 
opinions,  drawn  together  by  a  single 
personality,  and  finally  thrown  back  on 
the  community  to  shift  for  themselves. 
The  characteristic  feature  and  result 
of  this  movement,  whether  for  better 
or  worse,  was  simply  its  homeles sties Sy 
and  every  movement  of  this  descrip- 
tion in  the  churches,  from  that  day  to 
this,  has  in  the  end,  and  in  a  similar 
way,  resolved  itself  into  a  society  for 
the    turning-out    of    religious    vagrants. 

34 


THE  CHEAPENING  OF  RELIGION 

This  applies  to  ministers  and  laymen 
alike.  This  making  of  religious  vagrants 
is,  to  say  the  least  of  it,  a  very  noticeable 
feature  and  sequence  of  the  progres- 
sive religious  sentiment  of  the  day.  In 
listening  to  an  up-to-date  sermon  of  this 
description,  one  finds  it  is  frequently 
ninety-eight  per  cent  political  and  social- 
istic, and  two  per  cent  spiritual. 

The  ultimate  result  to  such  churches 
can  be  imagined.  It  will  repay  us  to 
give  a  little  attention  to  the  language 
used  upon  such  occasions  by  prominent 
liberal  preachers  in  the  year  19 lo.  Of 
course  this  kind  of  doctrine  cannot  yet 
be  taken  as  typical  of  the  situation  in 
liberal  religious  circles,  but  it  is  by  far 

35 


THE  CHEAPENING  OF  RELIGION 

the  most  extensively  advertised  and  ap- 
plauded feature  of  the  situation. 

Quite  recently,  in  Boston,  large  au- 
diences of  Unitarians  and  their  friends 
were  addressed  by  ministers  of  that  de- 
nomination, during  anniversary  week. 
The  attitude  of  the  church  toward  pol- 
itics, labor  problems,  and  social  jus- 
tice was  the  topic  that  aroused  the 
keenest  interest,  and  the  addresses  there- 
on were  most  extensively  reported  in  the 
newspapers.  The  enthusiasm  of  audi- 
ences was  repeatedly  aroused  by  such 
sentiments  as  the  following  uttered  by 
prominent  speakers: — 

"This  money  power  has  invaded  and 
captured  the  Republican  party.  This 
money  power  has  invaded  our  colleges 

36 


THE  CHEAPENING  OF  RELIGION 

and  universities,  and  told  their  heads 
what  they  can  teach. " 

According  to  this  minister,  the  church 
should  preach  politics  and  socialism  from 
the  pulpit.  He  himself  had  no  hesitation 
in  setting  the  example.  The  church, 
his  own  church,  is  conspicuously  weak 
and  inefficient.  Its  plain  duty  is  to 
denounce  the  money  power,  the  Repub- 
lican party,  and  the  railroads.  In  re- 
gard to  the  latter,  an  audience  was  in- 
formed that  "The  beast  in  the  east 
masquerades  under  the  name  of  the 
Boston  and  Maine  Railroad,  and  it 
is  one  of  the  corrupting  influences  in 
the  east." 

Parenthetically  there  is  about  one  ounce 
of   vanishing    truth    in    this    statement, 

37 


THE  CHEAPENING  OF  RELIGION 

and  a  ton  of  gross  misrepresentation. 
Any  one  of  its  thousands  of  employees 
could  have  informed  the  speaker  what 
the  Boston  and  Maine  Railroad  and 
its  management  stand  for  to-day,  socially, 
educationally,  and  industrially.  As  for 
the  past — let  the  dead  bury  its  dead. 

According  to  these  speakers,  how- 
ever, the  greatest  offender  is  the  church 
itself.  Its  stand  on  economic  and  so- 
cial questions  is  the  centre  of  attack. 
The  church  is  accused  of  being  "long  on 
salvation  somewhere  else,  and  mighty 
short  of  it  here."  One  speaker,  relating 
his  experience  and  opinion,  had  this  to 
say:  *'I  saw  a  congregation  of  people 
who  would  sing  and  who  would  talk 
about    the    brotherhood    of    man,    but 

38 


THE  CHEAPENING  OF  RELIGION 

who  would  resent  any  attempt  to  make 
that  brotherhood  possible.'^ 

"Where  save  in  the  church  would 
you  find  buyers  of  legislatures  ? "  he  in- 
quired. "Where  save  in  the  church  will 
you  find  the  owners  of  foul  tenements 
that  kill  the  people  who  are  compelled 
to  live  in  them  ? " 

The  moral  effect  of  this  kind  of  ser- 
monizing, advertised  as  it  has  been  all 
over  the  country,  is  simply  to  bring 
all  churches  and  every  form  of  religious 
teaching  into  disrepute  with  the  people. 
Not  only  is  its  tendency  to  initiate 
and  encourage  dissatisfaction  and  va- 
grancy in  religious  circles,  not  only  are 
its  accusations  often  exaggerated,  but 
its    very    aims    are    themselves    founded 

39 


THE  CHEAPENING  OF  RELIGION 

on  error  and  misconception.  This  final 
and  most  important  phase  of  the  situa- 
tion should  be  clearly  explained  and 
understood. 


One  of  the  chief  of  these  misconcep- 
tions relates  to  the  function  and  duties 
of  the  Christian  minister,  and  to  the 
understanding  or  misunderstanding  of 
Christian  endeavor  in  all  parts  of  the 
world  in  times  past.  The  modern  re- 
ligious reformer,  in  thinking  that  he 
can  fill  the  role  of  a  political  partisan  or 
a  corporation-baiter,  and  at  the  same 
time  expect  to  remain  on  a  spiritual 
eminence  and   direct   the   conscience   of 

40 


THE  CHEAPENING  OF  RELIGION 

even  a  small  congregation,  is  making  a 
great  mistake. 

Personally  this  action  of  his  may  be 
commendable ;  he  may  be  peculiarly  fitted 
for  this  kind  of  work;  nevertheless,  it 
must  be  to  him  a  fundamental  change 
of  occupation. 

The  position  of  the  writer  on  the 
matter  can  be  stated  in  the  words  of 
Phillips  Brooks:  "God's  purpose  on  the 
earth  is  man,  and  the  primary  and 
final  concern  of  the  Christian  minister 
is  human  character."  This  religious  pro- 
gramme is  not  only  all  a  Christian  min- 
ister can  reasonably  be  expected  to  at- 
tend to,  but,  as  we  shall  see  later,  it 
includes,  and  always  has  included,  so- 
cial   justice    and    betterment    work    of 

41 


THE  CHEAPENING  OF  RELIGION 

every  description.  Let  us  first  empha- 
size this  position  or  sphere  of  duty  a 
little. 

The  Reverend  Frederick  A.  Bisbee, 
editor  of  the  Universalist  Leader  of  Bos- 
ton, in  his  baccalaureate  sermon  at  the 
University  of  Maine  some  time  ago,  called 
attention  to  the  part  played  by  religion 
in  the  present  great  drama  of  life. 

"The  great  need  of  the  world,"  he  said, 
"is  not  more  laws,  not  more  schemes 
for  human  betterment,  but  more  of 
just  plain,  good,  true  men.  The  best 
office  in  the  world  will  fail  unless  you 
have  good  men  to  administer  it.  Every 
social  system  ever  instituted  has  met 
wreck  because  of  the  failure  of  the  in- 
dividual  man   in   it.     All   our  evils,   so- 

42 


THE  CHEAPENING  OF  RELIGION 

cial,  economic,  and  political,  have  their 
primary  cause  in  evil  men,  often  men 
of  talent  and  training.  The  only  way 
to  reform  the  world  is  to  reform  the 
men  in  it." 

Here,  then,  is  the  religious  proposi- 
tion of  to-day  actually  more  insistent 
and  more  clearly  defined  than  ever. 
This  is  the  prescribed  sphere  of  action 
of  the  Christian  minister.  It  is  or- 
thodox, liberal,  and  catholic.  But  the 
American  genius  is  averse  to  restric- 
tions of  any  kind,  and  the  fever  in  the 
blood  is  now  running  its  course  through 
the  churches. 

Let  us  take  a  glance  at  this  now 
popular  movement  in  perhaps  its  latest 
manifestation. 

43 


THE  CHEAPENING  OF  RELIGION 

The  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United 
States,  for  example,  with  its  one  mil- 
lion three  hundred  thousand  members, 
has  recently  issued  a  sort  of  manifesto 
on  the  subject.  The  document  was  re- 
ported to  the  assembly  at  Atlantic  City, 
by  Reverend  John  McDowell,  D.D.,  and 
adopted  with  unanimity.  Its  terms  call 
upon  the  church  to  declare  itself  specific- 
ally on  certain  social,  moral,  and  in- 
dustrial issues.  It  is  true  Jesus  ap- 
proached the  social  question  from  within. 
He  dealt  with  individuals;  he  made  men. 
he  served  the  world  through  inspiration; 
he  left  the  organization  of  social  and  in- 
dustrial details  to  the  individual  who 
listened  to  and  profited  by  his  teachings. 
But  the  Presbyterian  and  other  Protestant 

44 


THE  CHEAPENING  OF  RELIGION 

churches  now  propose  to  go  further. 
The  time  has  come,  they  declare,  "when 
our  churches  and  ministers  must  speak 
their  minds  concerning  particular  prob- 
lems now  threatening  society." 

To  begin  with,  then,  let  it  now  be 
preached  that  "All  wealth,  from  what- 
ever source  acquired,  must  be  held  or 
administered  as  a  trust  from  God  for 
fellow  men."  The  church  must  declare, 
too,  for  the  application  of  Christian 
principles  in  the  conduct  of  industrial 
organizations,  whether  of  capital  or  la- 
bor; for  a  more  equal  distribution  of 
wealth;  and  for  the  abatement  of  pov- 
erty. Furthermore,  the  church  must 
stand  for  the  abolition  of  child-labor. 
Provision  must  be  made  to  relieve  from 

45 


THE  CHEAPENING  OF  RELIGION 

want  those  who,  through  no  fault  of 
their  own,  now  suffer  the  brunt  of 
losses  incurred  in  the  service  of  society 
as  a  whole.  The  church  must  also  have 
an  eye  on  and  a  hand  in  regulating  the 
condition  of  the  industrial  occupation  of 
women.  She  must  declare  for  the  pro- 
tection of  working  people  from  danger- 
ous machinery,  and  for  adequate  in- 
surance; and  finally,  "The  pay  of  every 
worker  for  six  days'  work" — the  church 
must  see  to  it — **  should  be  made  suf- 
ficient for  the  needs  of  seven  days  of 
living." 

Evidently  these  issues  and  interests  are 
of  the  greatest  importance,  both  to  the 
churches  and  to  the  nation  at  large. 
The  proposition  from  beginning  to  end 

46 


THE  CHEAPENING  OF  RELIGION 

does  credit  to  the  religious  instinct  and 
human  sympathies  of  any  church. 

The  principles  concerned  in  the  pro- 
gramme are  all  right,  but  in  the  work- 
ing out  of  its  details  there  is  a  peck  of 
trouble,  for  both  minister  and  church. 
But  the  churches  have  always  preached 
and  acknowledged  the  principles  of  so- 
cial justice,  on  a  level,  at  any  rate, 
with  the  times.  What  they  now  pro- 
pose to  do  is  to  step  down  into  the  so- 
cial arena  and  take  sides.  Once  in  the 
arena  there  is  no  help  for  it.  The  min- 
ister must  come  out  for  the  open  shop 
or  against  it.  He  must  be  socialist  or 
anti-socialist.  Sooner  or  later  he  must 
be  female  suffragist  or  anti-suffragist. 
He   must   come   out   for   an   eight-hour 

47 


THE  CHEAPENING  OF  RELIGION 

day  or  against  it.  Meanwhile,  under 
these  circumstances,  his  congregation  be- 
ing human,  only  a  man-miracle  could 
retain  his  spiritual  jurisdiction. 

In  fact  to  saddle  the  modern  min- 
ister with  even  a  subordinate  part  in 
the  organization  and  solution  of  these 
problems  of  social  justice  is  simply  pre- 
posterous. 

President  Eliot  of  the  American  Uni- 
tarian Association  is  evidently  of  this 
opinion.  He  does  not  believe  that  *'one 
man  can  be  a  theologian,  a  sociologist, 
a  raiser  of  church  income,  and  a  pastor 
with  sufficient  skill  to  make  himself  ac- 
ceptable to  an  intelligent  and  critical 
congregation." 

This   is   the   situation    in   a   nutshell. 

48 


THE  CHEAPENING  OF  RELIGION 

Let  the  minister  choose  whom  he  will 
serve.     Let   him   specialize;   and   seeing   \ 
that  the  primal  and  final  concern  of  the 
Christian   minister  is  human  character,  j 
let  him  specialize  at  his  own  business, 
and  stand  to  his  guns. 

The  churches  to-day  are  as  well  aware 
of  these  facts,  and  of  this  situation, 
as  the  writer  of  this  article.  But,  un- 
fortunately, at  the  present  day  they 
are  suffering  from  a  simple  case  of 
Christian  timidity  or  fright.  Deep  in 
its  heart  the  church  is  aware  of  its 
spiritual  mission,  but  the  incessant  ha- 
ranguing of  the  popular  reformer,  and 
various  other  pressures  from  without, 
are  eating  into  its  faith,  and  it  now  seems 
to   be    possessed   with   a    determination 

49 


THE  CHEAPENING  OF  RELIGION 

to  part  with  no  small  portion  of  its 
spiritual  function,  in  order  to  acquire 
an  uncertain  partnership  in  affairs  over 
which  its  influence  is  comparatively 
slight. 

But  this  religious  misconception  is 
not  alone  one  of  function  and  duty. 
At  the  root  of  nearly  all  modern  pro- 
jects, or  tendencies,  to  materialize  re- 
ligion, there  is  also  a  misinterpreta- 
tion of  church  history  and  antecedents. 
For  if  there  is  any  one  thing  to-day  of 
which  the  churches  have  reason  to  be 
proud,  it  is  the  record  of  Christian  en- 
deavor and  success  along  the  very  lines 
to  which  popular  attention  is  now  be- 
ing directed. 

In    reading   the   programme   and    an- 

50 


THE  CHEAPENING  OF  RELIGION 

nounced    platform    of   the    Presbyterian 
Church,    one    gets    the    idea    that     this 
denomination  is  becoming  interested  in 
these  social  and  industrial  problems  for 
the    first    time.     Nothing    can    be    fur- 
ther   from    the    truth.     The    past    and 
present  glory   of  the   Christian   Church 
does   not   consist   in   the   lists   of  social 
and    industrial    cure-alls    which    it    has 
officially  sanctioned  and  proclaimed  from 
the  housetops.     While  others  have  been 
thus  engaged,  the  individuals,  the  chil- 
dren and  fruits  of  the  church's  ministry, 
the    "just    plain,    good,    true    men    and 
women,"  have  been  at  work,  and  have 
crowded  into  the  past  fifty  years  a  record 
of  actual  results  in  humanitarian  efforts 
which,   properly  understood,   should   fill 

51 


THE  CHEAPENING  OF  RELIGION 

the  faintest  religious  heart  with  courage 
and  gladness. 

It  is  only  necessary  to  study  these  re- 
forms, the  names  of  the  reformers,  and 
the  associations  connected  with  them, 
to  understand  that  in  a  vast  majority 
of  cases  the  great  work  of  human  uplift 
has  been  initiated  and  carried  on  "In 
His  Name,"  and  in  faithful  response 
to  the  injunction,  "This  commandment 
give  I  unto  you,  that  ye  love  one  an- 
other." 


52 


In  preparation : 

What  Constitutes 
Spiritual  Living 

and 

how  can  it  be  realized 
in    the   world    to-day  ? 

BY 

JOHN    GODDARD 

Minister  of  the  New  Church 
at  Newtonville,  Mass. 


Price  Fifty  Cents 


Address 

New-Church  Board  of  Publication 

3  West  29th  Street,  New  York 


GENERAL  LIBRARY  -  U.C.  BERKELEY 


BaoDasiD^D 


